Am I confident in that selection? No. I had serious thoughts of changing it because there are things about this team that scare me to death.

But at the end of the day, these Packers have what matters most in today’s NFL – an unstoppable offense – and that, I believe, will carry them through along with some extraordinary luck.

First, here are the things that make me nervous about the 2010 Packers:

Needs left unaddressed: What were the two biggest needs for this team after last season? Outside linebacker and cornerback. Were they addressed? No. If the Packers sustain an injury at either position is the season over? At least a shot at the Super Bowl. And it didn’t have to be that way. OLB is the new tackle. The Packers entered the 2009 season with no backup plans at either tackle spot. And it nearly sunk the season. The same thing could happen at OLB this year. I’m fine with Clay Matthews (uh, obviously) and Brad Jones as the starters. It’s what’s behind them that bothers me. Whether it was through free agency, the draft, player-for-player trade or waiver claims, the Packers’ front office needed to find the best available OLB and acquired him. Period. Brady Poppinga and Frank Zombo are not 3-4 OLBs, at least not this season in Zombo’s case. It’s a near dereliction of duty that Ted Thompson, with this good a team and in the only uncapped year we'll probably ever see, left Dom Capers with those players as his only available options at one of the most crucial positions in a 3-4 should an injury occur. Same as it was last year at tackle. Don’t ask me whom I would have gotten. That’s not my job. I don't get paid to watch all 31 other teams during training camp. So any names I would come up with wouldn't be worth much. It’s the job of the Packers’ front office to diagnose weaknesses on their team and pour through their data - and they have reams of it - to fill that need. They did not do that at OLB, and it could kill this team. Same at cornerback. While Sam Shields is talented and should develop into a good player down the road, a Super Bowl-caliber team should start the season with a better, more experienced nickel back. And Shields isn’t there because he’s ready now. He’s there because he’s the only available option. Brandon Underwood and Pat Lee were that bad in training camp and haven’t improved. The Packers should not have counted, in any way, on Al Harris returning from his gruesome injury. He should have been a major bonus if he does return and play well.

Special teams: Supposedly the Packers are going to unveil these great new schemes that are going to fix the special teams. From what we’ve seen, that appears to be wishful thinking. And that the Packers’ front office couldn’t find a bonafide kick returner was another big miss. Again, they counted on an injured player (Will Blackmon) and it didn’t work. It didn’t need to be that way.

Capers’ playcalling: It looks like the Packers have some really nice tools to take out of the toolbox this season, stuff they’ve been working and tinkering with the entire offseason. The question isn’t whether they will work – they should, especially against a neophyte QB like Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles in the opener – but rather, when the chips are down and the Packers need to come up with a play, will Capers actually roll the dice and do it? Bob Sanders worked on a ton of things in practice too, but rarely used them. Capers indicated he was hamstrung by the personnel last year. That could happen again if the Packers get caught short at OLB, CB or S before reinforcements arrived off the PUP list. That’s not an excuse anymore. Between the front office and the coaching staff, the Packers have had an entire offseason to prepare for every scenario. They should be ready and effective in all of them, and against the best quarterbacks they will face. Not just the schlubs. Capers needs to go for broke this season with more zero blitzes. The best defenses in the game today do that. What’s the worst that will happen? The defense will hand the ball right back to Aaron Rodgers and the offense. That’s not a bad alternative.

The team attitude: I really don’t mind all the Super Bowl Or Die talk. Or what Jermichael Finley feels like saying. That talk isn’t cocky, those guys seem like they’re setting a goal and they're going to do the work required to attain it. And I really liked how the team worked during training camp. They went about their business the right way and didn’t get too full of themselves, unlike last season. And Mike McCarthy was much tougher on the team about penalties and basic sloppiness, and it looked like it had a positive effect. But in the past week I’ve seen some signs of the team falling back into their arrogant mindset that killed them at certain points last season. You’d think they’d learn by now. But if you really don’t think it’s a problem – and no one around the team, including the head coach, does apparently – then it’s going to rage unchecked. I don’t think it’s a problem at this point, but it could become one. This team could really use one real-deal, vocal leader – coach or player – to drive home that this team is nothing until they actually do something on the field. I don’t see that person yet.

So now that I’ve scared you to death about this team and you’re canceling your reservations in Dallas, here are the reasons why I think the Packers will overcome those issues and take it all this season:

The offense: Provided the protection doesn’t breakdown and Rodgers doesn’t start thinking he’s Michael Vick and/or Steve Young, this offense should be awesome. As long as Jermichael Finley is healthy – he has yet to get through a full season – the offense should be wide open and rack up the points in bunches. Like record-setting bunches. They’re that good. And Rodgers is on a different level this season. He should become a legit elite quarterback in short order. He’s now making the throws that win games with regularity. Rodgers didn’t do that last season. Who made the Super Bowl last season? Two teams with unstoppable offenses, the Saints and the Colts. The Packers are on that level this season.

They’ll avoid the injury bug: For whatever reason, the Packers will get lucky this season with injuries, especially at outside linebacker. Chad Clifton or Mark Tauscher may go down, but the team is actually ready to deal with that this season. Kudos to Thompson for finally getting that solved. The Packers will be heavily favored in each of their first six games. They’ll come out at least 5-1. At that time, Al Harris and Atari Bigby should be fully ready to go and give the team a much-needed jolt of effectiveness and experience. And right before their most crucial stretch of the season: Vikings, at Jets, Cowboys, at Vikings, at Falcons and 49ers. It could work out perfectly. Too bad there’s not an OLB on PUP too. James Starks can’t play there, can he?

They picked a good year: There’s every reason to believe the Packers may be a season away from a real shot at a Super Bowl title. But this will be their best shot. Their main competition – the Saints, Vikings, Colts and Cowboys – look to be headed for letdowns. They also happen to be the only teams that could outscore the Packers on a good day. The Saints will have the usual Super Bowl hangover. They might be prepared, but that hunger that drives Super Bowl-less teams to work harder than ever will be gone. The Vikings shouldn’t be able to recapture the magic again. This could be the year the Colts finally become mortal behind a bad offensive line. The Cowboys still have Wade Phillips as coach – but that might not be the case next season (Bill Cowher or someone else). Even Mark Sanchez is still a work in progress for the Jets (who I picked to represent the AFC), and you can’t win a Super Bowl these days without a difference-maker – not a game manager – at quarterback. This is the Packers’ best chance.

About Greg A. Bedard

Greg is in his second year with the Journal Sentinel after 10 years with The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post.
With the Post, Greg spent his final four years covering the Miami Dolphins. Prior to that, Greg was a general assignment reporter, covering everything from PGA Tour events, major college football, the world championships won by the Florida Marlins and Miami Heat, to the 2003 Little League World Series national championship won by East Boynton Beach.
Greg, a 1997 graduate of Rutgers University, hails from Massachusetts, where he graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.
He currently resides in Lawrence with his wife, Rita, and twin children, Jason and Priya.